Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

Lords Of Realm 3 Screenshots

Product Overview:
Lords of the Realm III (Lords 3) is a real-time strategy game of historic medieval
conquest that spans castle building, siege, politics, religion, and conquest.
The game is set in the Middle Ages, between 850 AD and 1350 AD, and features
authentic castle designs and characters. Various scenarios and campaigns encompass
the British Isles, Germany, France, Normandy, Brittany, Flanders and Denmark.
Extending the medieval world beyond combat, Lords 3 takes into account the powerful
clergy and merchant classes of the time which are important factions in the player's
quest to become King.

Features:

Act as a feudal lord. Like all nobles, your goal is to acquire
more land and power, keep the church at bay, and exploit the cities
and towns you have contact. Along the way, you'll have to prevent
greedy burghers and merchants from becoming too powerful and build
sturdy castles to protect your assets. Recruit vassals from pious
crusaders to Viking raiders to priests and bishops to manage your
lands and lead your armies. The peasantry feeds itself, taking care
of its own needs, only bothering their Lord or Lady when special
circumstances necessitate it.

Build castles. In Lords 3 you design and build your own castles
to defend your lands, or choose from myriad historical castles to
build. These range from early "motte and bailey" stockades, through
the stout stone towers of the Normans, up to the culmination of the
grand Edwardian castles in the late 1200's and early 1300's.

Then tear those castles down in a massive siege. To crush an enemy
castle, you can manipulate a dizzying array of siege engines, such
as trebuchets, catapults, ballistae and mangonels. Or, if you prefer
the direct approach, you can attempt to breach the castle defenses
by less destructive means, such as scaling ladders, siege towers,
and battering rams - leaving the castle in better condition for future
use by the conqueror!

The besieged strive to keep attackers at bay by firing their bows and crossbows
through arrow loops and murder holes, emptying vats of boiling oil onto unwitting
assailants, or throwing scaling ladders (or attackers themselves!) from the
castle walls… while the same time scrambling to plug any breaches in the
castle's defenses, by means of sturdy knights and other soldiers.

Walls crack and crumble, flames billow from the castle's stores, steel clashes
with steel in a no-holds-barred fight for control of the stronghold, and
hence the territory it commands. When the smoke finally clears, scavengers
take to the field to reclaim armor and weapons, and fallen enemy knights
(those who still draw breath) may be captured for later ransom. If the castle
has fallen to the attacker, he'd best set about making repairs, for he is
likely to find himself the besieged before too long.

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